EMERGENCY FUND

In order to provide emergency scholarships to threatened Syrian students that supplement the offers made by the Academic Consortium members, an Emergency Student Fund was created. This Fund is made up of voluntary donations and grants made to the Global Platform. It is managed by a Financial Board who prepares the financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and following the highest operating and ethical standards.

The Global Platform for Syrian Students obtains an annual audit or review in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards by an independent public accounting firm, PwC. Copies of 2013 and 2014 audited financial statements are available upon request. Our full Board serves as the audit committee reviewing the annual audit and making adjustments to policies or procedures when necessary. Contributions to the Emergency Fund are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by Portuguese law or the law applicable in European countries belonging to the Transnational Giving Europe (TGE), a partnership of leading European foundations and associations that facilitates tax-efficient cross-border giving within Europe.

The Global Platform for Syrian Students has also been certified as equivalent to a U.S. public charity – an ED certificate is available with NGOsource. Emergency Student Funds are used to award scholarships, provide emergency grants and a holistic education program, emphasizing the acquisition of, soft skills, language courses, internships and peace-building & reconciliation courses.

Further to spontaneous donations, the Fund is made up of outcomes of fund-raising campaigns and events organized by the Global Platform and its partners throughout the year.

Please see below accounts´ reports and audits from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The Global Platform was able to rely upon a wide range of private donors to sustain its scholarships in 2014 and 2015. We are deeply grateful to all of them. Although many challenges remain, we are confident about maintaining and strengthening existing partnerships with our donors in the coming years while continuing to broaden and deepen our funding base. Among other things financial security will continue to be crucial to our ability to increase our capacity to support more Syrian students. Further to spontaneous donations, the Fund is made up of outcomes of fund-raising campaigns and events organized by the Global Platform and its partners throughout the year.